Look for the best bands Under the Sun'

Bringing together some of the most memorable hitmakers of the ’90s for a tour billed “Under the Sun” promises spirited sing-alongs of the lyrics crowds know by heart, retro dance moves and a roaring great time onstage. But the scorching summer sun that goes perfectly together with the bubbly pop music of Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray and Gin Blossoms cannot be guaranteed.

“Can’t fight Mother Nature, right?” said Scott Johnson, lead guitarist for Gin Blossoms. “It rained last night, everyone’s set got cut short and one band didn’t get to play. The show almost got cancelled completely, so everyone was happy it kept going, screaming and yelling and having a good time.”

Armed with umbrellas and raincoats, music lovers looking for some nostalgia in Utah’s Sandy Amphitheater last week weren’t deterred by a little thunder and lightning. It’s precisely the type of devotion to the music that made pop stars out of the once-struggling artists and makes this type of package tour so successful today. Steve Harwell, the lead singer of Smash Mouth, is happy to deliver to fans the hits they crave, even after all these years.

“We switch it up a little bit; we have such a catalogue and we get requests all the time — ‘play this, play that,’ but we kind of keep the same pace. We’ve been playing so much already since before this tour started, it’s like riding a bicycle.”

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Although the pace of the stage show has remained the same, time has slowed down the performers’ party antics since their heyday, as most are now well into their middle age and many have wives and children back home.

“I hate to tell you this, but there’s not a lot going on,” laughed Johnson. “I’ve learned I’ve gotta do something other than drink beer, so I just went to the little gym downstairs and there’s usually some television-watching involved. All these tour busses have satellite TV, so there’s like 500 channels. Yesterday we watched ‘Mama.’ It’s not as exciting as people might think.”

Time has also brought security to the performers in a field known for its egos and competitiveness. Each group having successfully carved out its own niche in the music scene, the sense of camaraderie among tour mates was apparent from the get-go.

“It’s been very calm and quiet, meaning no weird politics among five bands. We did the tour last summer with Sugar Ray and they’re such great gentlemen. We spoke in the winter about doing it again and everyone felt so positive, so we said, ‘Sure, let’s do it again,’” says Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist and vocalist for Gin Blossoms.

It’s a good thing too that everyone gets along because when Harwell gets in front of a barbecue pit, you’d hate to be on his bad side.

“I’m the resident chef when I’m at home with all my friends; I cook a lot. We do have catering on the road every day, but when I come by a barbecue pit, I’ll whip some stuff up for the guys. The Gin Blossoms got a spot the other day. I love it.”

He’s known so much for his “recipes from the road” that he quite literally wrote the book on it.

“It’s a great read; it’s kind of like a coffee table book,” said Harwell. “A scrapbook with pictures from years and years ago — all my favorite restaurants, favorite chefs and a lot of big names that were nice enough to come onboard and create recipes for the book. My bass player wrote all the stories. He’s got the best memory. Even though he probably drinks the most, he still remembers more than me.”

Looking forward, Harwell hopes to continue with the package tour for the foreseeable future.

“Next year we’ll swap out a couple of the bands. We’re talking with the Barenaked Ladies and Third Eye Blind for next year. We want to keep it fresh each time and try to create a nostalgic thing, build our own little tour like that. A lot of people are doing it right now — hip-hop groups and rock groups — but I think ours is turning out the best.”

This time around, the 35-stop tour will be going all over the U.S. and Canada, from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to the Newport Yachting Center in Rhode Island and, on Aug. 3, Philadelphia’s Electric Factory.

But whether it’s rain or shine that falls when the Under the Sun tour comes to town, no worries. It’s an indoor venue.